Projectile for firearms



Juli 13, 11943. N LB 2,324,346

PROJECTILE FOR FIREARMS Filed Sept. 5, 1941 Patented July 13, 1943UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to projectiles for guns.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a projectile whichwill have a decreased air resistance and consequently an increasedsustained velocity; to provide a projectile which, when assembled with acartridge case containing explosive material will form a round ofammunition that has the same external dimensions, configuration andappearance as a standard round of the same caliber and can, therefore,be used in any gun interchangeable with standard rounds of ammunition,which projectile has the capacity of changing its shape from one havinga given ballistic form to one having a better or superior ballistic formbetween the time it is loaded into a gun and the time that it isdischarged therefrom; to provide a projectile in which the point or tipof the nose is concavely curved in the direction of its length, and isformed by a piece which is separatefrom the body of the projectile; toprovide a projectile which, when discharged, will have a reduced yaw orspiral motion after it leaves the barrel of the gun, and will go tosleep at a much earlier point in its trajectory than standardprojectiles now commonly used; to provide a projectile which isconstructed so that the flow of air around the projectile during flightwill have a propelling effect on the projectile, thus augmenting thesustained velocity; to provide a projectile which is constructed so thata decreased amount of the kinetic energy of the projectile is convertedinto sound waves, whereby an increased amount of such energy isavailable for continuing the flight of the projectile; and to improveprojectiles for firearms in other respects as will be hereinafter ointedout.

In the accompanying drawing, the invention is illustrated as applied to.50 caliber projectile, but I wish to state that the invention is notrestricted to any particular caliber nor to a projectile that is seatedin a case.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a cartridge case loaded with my improvedprojectile.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the projectile after ignition of thecharge, and showing the change in the shape of the projectile which hastaken place automatically.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a cartridge loaded with aprojectile embodying the invention but having a different form from thatshown in Figs. 2 to 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the projectile shown in Fig. 4 andillustrating its changed shape.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6E, Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a View illustrating the extensible nose tip and its stembefore it is assembled with the body of the projectile, the curvature ofthe stem being somewhat exaggerated.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional View showing a different embodiment ofthe invention.

In the drawing, l indicates a cartridge case of the conventional form inthe neck 20 of which is seated a projectile 2 embodying my invention,said cartridge case having the usual primer-receiving pocket 3 in itsbase containing a primer 4 of any approved construction, and also havingthe usual flash hole 5 leading from the primerreceiving pocket 3 to theinterior chamber 6 containing the charge 1.

One feature of my invention relates to a projectile which, whenassembled with a cartridge case containing explosive material, forms around of ammunition that has the dimensions, configuration and outwardappearance of a standard round of the same caliber, but which isconstructed so that it will develop considerably less air resistanceduring flight than projectiles of standard rounds of ammunition. Suchdecrease in air resistance is secured by making the projectile so thatduring its flight it has a sharp pointed nose of special construction inwhich the tip end of the nose preferably has a concave curvature in thedirection of the length of the projectile that merges into and forms acontinuation of the surface of the base portion of the nose.

While a projectile having a nose which terminates in a microscopic pointwill obviously require the expenditure of less energy in parting the airduring flight than a projectile having a blunt point, yet the sharppoint of such a projectile is apt to become'broken or bent duringhandling or transportation of ammunition, thereby producing a defectiveround. Furthermore, a projectile having a sharp point is not onlysomewhat dangerous to handle but is likely to jam in the mechanism ofrepeating or self-loading arms. As a result, projectiles of the typeherein shown are usually made with a nose having a blunt point.

In order to provide a sharp pointed projectile which can be handled,manipulated and loaded into the cartridge case without danger ofbreaking, bending or injuring the point, and which, when so loaded intothe cartridge case, will provide a round of ammunition which is similarin shape and appearance to a standard round and can thus be readilyloaded into cartridge belts, cartridge magazines, guns, etc.,interchangeably with ordinary standard ammunition, I have provided aprojectile in which the point or tip of the nose is extensible andretractable and in which such sharp pointed tip is normally situatedwithin the body of the projectile and is thus protected, but isautomatically projected beyond the body when the gun is fired, therebyproviding the projectile with a sharp pointed nose which enables it tomore easily part the air, thus conserving energy during its entireflight. My improved projectile, therefore, has the capacity ofautomatically changing its shape to one having an improved ballisticform.

My improved projectile Z is formed with a body portion 8 and the pointednose portion 9. The base part It; of the nose portion 9 is formedintegral with the body 8 and presents a convex exterior curvature IIwhich may have a head radius or ogive of any desired calibers. The tipor point of the nose portion 9 is indicated at I2, and the exteriorsurface of such tip portion is preferably concavely curved, as shown atI 3, such concave curvature being tangential to and merging into theconvex curvature H. This tip portion I2 of the nose may be rigid withthe base portion it! but in the. preferred embodiment of my invention,such tip portion I2 is constructed to be retracted into the base portionof the nose, as shown in Fig. 2, in which position the sharp point I4 ofthe nose tip is protected so that it cannot be injured or broken duringany handling or transportation of the cartridge, and so that it will notinterfere in any way with the operation of loading the ammunition intothe cartridge belts, cartridge containers, guns, etc. A round ofammunition loaded with a projectile embodying my invention can behandled in the same way as standard ammunition of like caliber, and bythe same mechanism used in handling such standard ammunition, and can beused in any gun the same as standard ammunition.

My improved projectile, however, is so constructed that the pointed tipI2 of the nose may be projected forwardly beyond the base of the noseinto operative position, shown in Fig. 3, thereby changing the shape ofthe projectile to one having an improved ballistic form.

One way in which this may be accomplished is by providing the body 8 ofthe projectile with an axial bore I5 and forming the tip portion I2 ofthe nose with a stem I 6 which occupies said bore and extends throughthe projectile. The stem I6 and tip portion I2 thus form a needlelikemember occupying the bore of the projectile body. The end of the stemopposite the nose is shown as having a head I! shaped to fit a seat I8formed in the base of the projectile body 8, said head, when seated,functioning as a valve.

When the projectile 2 is loaded into the cartridge case I, the tip I2 ofthe nose is in its retracted position with the head I! spaced from thebase or tail end of the projectile body 8.

When the cartridge is fired or detonated, the

pressure developed by the explosive charge serves not only to projectthe projectile 2 through and from the barrel of the gun, but it also.serves early in the pressure cycle to force the stem I8 and the tipportion I2 of the nose forwardly,

thereby to project such tip portion beyond the base of the nose, and atthe same time to seat the valve head I! onto the seat I8, as shown inFig. 3. The effective pressure on the head I! which causes the stem I6to move forwardly in the projectile is the pressure developed within thecartridge case by the ignition of the explosive charge 'I (which is notinfrequently as high as fifty thousand pounds per square inch) againstan area equal to the cross sectional area of said stem I6, this beingthe difference between the areas of the rear face and the front face ofthe head I'I. When the gun is fired, therefore, the shape of theprojectile is automatically changed from one having a standard form toone having a sharply pointed nose with an improved ballisticcoefficient. According to the laws of physics, a slender needle-likeelement such as the stem I6 will have, for its weight, greaterpenetrating power than an article of larger transverse dimension andhence when a projectile having the construction herein shown strikes anobject, the inertia of the stem IE will tend to force the stem forwardlyahead of the projectile and thus causing it to penetrate the object to agreater extent than the body of the projectile. Under some circumstancesthis will be sufficient to strip the head from the stem I6 and hence myprojectile will have greater penetrating powers than an ordinaryprojectile of the same general shape.

I will preferably provide means for closing the cavity in the nose ofthe projectile which exists when the nose tip I2 is in its retractedposition shown in Fig. 2 so as to prevent the entrance of dirt orforeign matter into said cavity. Any suitable way of accomplishing thisend may be employed without departing from the invention. One simple wayis to fill the space I9 around the pointed end of the nose tip with somematerial, such as graphite, wax, etc, which will be easily forced out ofthe bore I5 when the nose tip is projected and will fall away from theprojectile.

Another efiicient way of closing the open front end of the nose is tocrimp or spin the sharp edges 2'! of the'projectile inwardly, as shownin dotted lines; Fig. 8. The force with which the nose tip is. projectedforwardly when the projectile is discharged will cause the nose tip I2to bend the edges 21 backwardly to their normal position, during whichoperation said inturned edges will hug the sides of the nose tip andwill form with the projected tip a smooth exterior surface on theprojectile. In Figs. 4 and 5, I have illustrated an embodiment of theinvention wherein the pro jectile is provided with a tapered tailextending beyond the base of the body portion, said tail forming withthe base a rearwardly facing shoulder. This construction not onlyreduces the vortex at the rear of the projectile during its flight, butit provides means whereby the flow of air around the travellingprojectile has a propelling effect thereon which partially counteractsand makes up for the loss of energy due to the parting of the air in theforward movement of the travelling projectile.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the projectile is shown at 2a, and it is similar inshape to the projectile 2, shown in Figs. 1 to 3, it having the centralbore I5a in which is received the stem Ifia carrying at its outer endthe nose tip I 2a, the sides of which are concavely curved, as shown atI 3a, thereby making the tip with an extremely sharp point I ia. In theembodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a streamlined tail member 2I issecured to the end of the stem Ilia, the forward face of which tailmember is adapted to seat against the seat Illa in the base of theprojectile when the nose tip I2a is projected forwardly. The tail ZI hasa streamlined shape, the body of the tail having the convexly curvedportion 22 which merges into the concavely curved tip portion as shownat 23, thereby to produce a sharp point 24.

When the projectile is loaded into the cartridge case I, the nose tip 2ais in its retracted position shown in Fig. 4, and the tail 2! will beseparated from the base of the projectile, also as shown in Fig. 4. Whenthe gun is fired, the pressure developed in the cartridge case forcesthe tail portion 2| and stem [6a forwardly into a position in which theface 26 of the tail 2| seats against the seat [8a, and the nose-tip I 2ais projected beyond the body of the projectile. The diameter of the tail2| is less than that of the projectile 8a at its base and consequentlywhen the tail portion 2| is seated against the base of the projectile,as shown in Fig. 5, there will be provided an annular rearwardly facingshoulder 28. When the projectile is in flight, there will be a flow ofair along the surface of the projectile, indicated by arrows a in Fig.5, and as this air passes over the shoulder 28, it will impinge againstthe tapered tail 2|, as indicated by the arrows b thus producing asqueezing action on the tapered tail which produces a propelling effecton the projectile much in the same way as squeezing of a watermelon seedbetween ones thumb and forefinger will produce a propelling actionthereon.

As stated above, the presence of the streamlined tail 2| reduces thevortex at the rear of the projectile, and consequently reduces the dragthereon which the vortex produces. In addition, the squeezing eifect onthe tapered tail of the air flowing over the shoulder 28 has apropelling effect on the projectile which counteracts to some extent thehead resistance, and as a result a projectile embodying my inventionwill have a much higher sustained velocity than similar projectiles nowin use, though the muzzle velocities are identical. The concavecurvature l3 and 13a at the nose tip of the projectile provides a shapewhich enables the projectile to pierce the air with a minimum of headresistance and directs the air gently outwardly, thereby re ducing theskin friction of the air flowing over the body of the projectile, andthis is a factor in maintaining its spin and hence its gyroscopicstability.

The stem I6 has a sufliciently tight fit in the bore I so as to preventsaid stem from moving inwardly or outwardly from its normal retractedposition during any handling or transportation of the projectile, and inorder to provide for this, said stem is made with a degree of resiliencyand also slightly curved, as indicated in Fig. 7 (although Fig. 7illustrates the curvature exaggerated), so that when the stem isinserted into the bore l5 of the projectile, the consequentstraightening of the stem will produce suficient friction between it andthe wall of the bore to securely hold the stem from premature backwardor forward movement. The amount of friction between the stem I6 and thewall i5 can be varied by varying somewhat the normal curvature of saidstem, and in this way the point in the pressure cycle at which the headI! or 22 seats against the seat I8 or 26 may be controlled. It isdesirable that this seating of the head should occur before theprojectile has moved any appreciable distance up the barrel.

Experiments I have made have shown a projectile embodying my inventionwill make less noise during flight than a standard projectile of similarcaliber head. The creation of sound waves by a moving object necessarilyinvolves the expenditure of energy, and as sound waves of less intensityare produced by a projectile embodying my invention than are produced bya similar projectile of standard form, it follows that less of theenergy stored up in a projectile embodying my invention when it is firedis dissipated in producing sound waves, and consequently a greaterproportion of such energy is available for continuing the flight of theprojectile.

A projectile embodying my invention may have the shape and contour ofany standard projectile, and hence a cartridge loaded with my improvedprojectile can be used in any existin firearms. In fact, a cartridgecase loaded with my improved projectile has the same appearance as thesame cartridge case loaded with any standard projectile. My inventionhas the further advantage that it is possible to convert standardprojectiles into projectiles embodying my invention by simply providingsuch standard projectiles with the axial bore l5 and valve seat l8, andthen assembling with such projectiles the nose tip and stem embodying myinvention.

Experiments I have made have indicated that a projectile embodying myinvention having the rearwardly projecting tapered tail portion which issmaller in diameter than the body portion, and forming therewith arearwardly facing shoulder will have a reduced yaw or spiral motionafter it leaves the barrel of the gun as compared With standardprojectiles and will, therefore, go to sleep at a much earlier point inits trajectory than such standard projectiles.

While I have illustrated herein my invention as embodied in a projectileseated in a cartridge case and constructed so that it will automaticallychange its shape to one having an improved ballistic form between thetime it is loaded into the gun and the time it is discharged therefrom,yet certain features of the invention are applicable to projectileswhich are not seated in cartridge cases and in which the change of shapemay be accomplished manually and at the time the projectile is loadedinto the gun.

t will be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited tothe construction herein shown but is capable of being embodied inprojectiles of various types, formation and sizes.

I claim:

1. A projectile for guns having a body provided with a tapered noseportion and a blunt base, and having an axial bore therethrough, a stemmovable in said bore between a retracted and a forward operativeposition, said stem havmg at its forward end a tapered pointed nose tipand at its rear end a rearwardly streamlined tail, said stem normallyoccupying the retracted position with the nose tip within the body andthe tail spaced from the blunt base of the body but adapted to beprojected to operative position with the surface of the nose tipprojecting beyond the body and forming a continuation of the surfacethereof, and with the tail abutting the base of'the body and forming ashouldered continuation thereof.

2. A projectile for guns having a body portion pro-vided with an axialbore, a needle-like member with a pointed end in said bore and movabletherein from a retracted position in which the pointed end is locatedwithin th bore to an operative position in which the pointed endprojects beyond the body and constitutes the tip of the nose of theprojectile, the rear end of said needle-like member being exposed to thepressure developed Within the gun when it is fired whereby such pressuremoves said member from its retracted position to its operative position,and means to limit the forward movement of said member and to seal saidbore when said member is in its forward position.

3. A projectile for guns having a body portion provided with an axialbore, a needle-like member with a pointed end in said bore and normallyoccupying a position in which the pointed end is located within thebore, said needle-like memher having its rear end exposed to thepressure developed within the gun when it i fired and being adapted tobe moved by such pressure to an operative position in which the pointedend projects beyond the body and constitutes the tip of the nose of theprojectile, and means to limit the forward movement of the needle-likemember.

4. A projectile for guns having a body provided with an axial bore, aneedle-like member having a pointed end located in said bore andnormally occupying a retracted position in which the pointed end issituated within the bore at the nose end of the projectile, saidneedle-like member being adapted to be advanced in the bore to operativeposition in which the pointed end thereof projects beyond the body andconstitutes the tip of the nose of the projectile, and a valve headsecured to the rear end of the needle-like member and adapted to seatagainst the base of the body when said member is in its operativeposition.

5. A projectile for guns having a body provided with an axial bore, aneedle-like member having a pointed end located in said bore and :i

normally occupying a retracted position in which the pointed end issituated within the bore at the nose end of the projectile, saidneedle-like member being adapted to be advanced in the bore to operativeposition in which the pointed end thereof projects beyond the body andconstitutes the tip of the nose of the projectile, and a pointed tailmember secured to the rear end of said needle-like member and adapted toseat against the base of the projectile body when said needlelike memberis in its operative position.

6. A projectile for guns having a body provided with an axial bore, aneedle-like member having a pointed end located within said bore andnormally occupying a retracted position in which the pointed end issituated within the bore at the nose end of the projectile, saidneedle-like member being adapted to be advanced in the bore to operativeposition in which the pointed end thereof projects beyond the body andconstitutes the tip of the nose of the projectile, and a pointed tailmember secured to the rear end of said needle-like member and adapted toseat against the base of the projectile body when said needle-likemember is in its operative position, said tail member having a diametersmaller than that of the base end of the projectile whereby when theneedle-like member is in its operative position, said tail member formswith the projectile body a rearwardly facing shoulder.

7. A projectile for guns comprising a body portion provided with anaxial bore, a needle-like member located Within said bore and having apointed end, said member being movable relative to the body between aretracted position in which the pointed end is located within the boreto an operative position in which the pointed end projects beyond thebody and constitutes th tip of the projectile nose, said needle-likemember having a valve head adapted to engage the base end Ill) of thebody when said member is in its operative position.

8. A projectile comprising a body portion having a bore extendingaxially therethrough, a needle-like member in said bore having a pointedfront end, and a valv head on said needle-like member at the rear endthereof, said needle-like member being movable forwardly in the bore toseat the valve against the base of the body and to project the pointedend beyond the body, in which position it forms a pointed tip for theprojectile nose.

9. A projectile for guns comprising a body having a tapered nos portionand provided with an axial bore, a needle-like member fitting said boreand provided with a pointed end located within said bore, the materialof the nose portion at the end of the bore being spun inwardly to closethe bore, said needle-like member being movable in the bore to projectthe pointed end through the closed end of the bore and into a positionin which it forms the nose tip of the projectile.

10. A projectile for firearms in which the tip portion of the nose ismovable axially of the body portion between a retracted position inwhich it is located entirely within the body of the projectile and anoperative position in which it is located beyond the body portion, inwhich latter position it forms the tip of the projectile nose, and meansresponsive to the pressure developed within the barrel of the firearmwhen the latter is fired to move said tip portion from its retractedposition to its operative position, the base of the nose portion beingconvexly curved in the direction of its length and the movable tipportion of the nose being concavely curved in the direction of itslength.

11. A projectile for firearms having a body pro vided with an axial boreextending therethrough, a stem having a pointed end slidable in saidbore and free to move from a retracted position in which its pointed endis located within said bore and is thus protected to an operativeposition in which said pointed end projects beyond the body and formsthe tip portion of the projectile nose, the rear end of the stem beingexposed to receive the pressure developed within the gun when the latteris fired.

12. A projectile as described in claim 11 in which the exterior surfaceof the projected portion of the stem when the latter is in its forwardoperative position forms an unbroken continuation of the surface of thprojectile body.

13. A projectile for firearms having a body provided at its forward endwith an axial bore, and a member in said bore having a pointed outerend, said member being free to move in the bore from a retractedposition to an operative forward position in which the pointed endprojects beyond the body portion and forms the tip portion of thprojectile nose, said body and said member having co-operating partswhich limit the forward movement of the member, said projectile havingprovision for subjecting the rear end of said member to the pressuredeveloped within the gun when it is fired, whereby said member is heldby such pressur in its forward operative position during the travelingmovement of the projectile through the barrel of the firearm.

14. A projectile for firearms having a body provided at its forward endwith an axial bore, and a member having a pointed outer end located insaid bore, said member being free to move in the bore from a retractedposition to an operative forward position in which the pointed endprojects beyond the body portion and form the tip portion of theprojectile nose, said body and said member having cooperating partswhich limit the forward movement of the member, said projectile havingprovision for subjecting the rear end of said member to the pressuredeveloped within the gun when it is fired, whereby said member is heldby such pressure in its forward operative position during the travelingmovement 10 of the projectile through the barrel of the firearm, thepointed end of said member which is exposed when it is in its forwardoperative position having a longitudinal curvature which merges int-othe longitudinal curvature of the body adjacent the projected portion ofsaid member, whereby when said member is in its forward operativeposition the ballistic characteristics of the projectile are improved.

GEORGE NORMAN ALBREE.

